Scott Bessent is US Treasury Secretary
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expects trade issues between the US and India to be resolved soon
- Bessent criticised India for buying Russian oil despite US tariffs and warned it funds Russia's Ukraine war
- India's slow-moving trade talks partly influenced US decision to impose 50% tariffs on Indian goods, he noted
The Donald Trump administration in the United States hopes to resolve trade friction with India soon, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claiming the "two great countries will get this solved". Bessent, however, criticised New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil despite US tariffs, and warned that the crude trade was fuelling Moscow's offensives in Ukraine.
Speaking to Fox Business, he also downplayed the significance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China, calling the gathering "largely performative."
"This is a longstanding meeting, it's called the Shanhai Cooperation Organisation, and I think it's largely performative," Bessent said.
"I think at the end of the day, India is the most populous democracy in the world. Their values are much closer to ours and to China's than to Russia's."
The Team Trump official further admitted that India's purchase of Russian crude was not the only factor behind US President Donald Trump's punitive 50 per cent tariffs on India-- the highest among Asian nations-- and claimed slow-moving India-US trade talks were an additional factor behind the White House's move to raise duties.
"I think at the end of the day, two great countries will get this solved. But the Indians have not been great actors in terms of buying Russian oil and then reselling it, financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine," he said.
Earlier, Trump had called trade with India a "one-sided disaster" and alleged that the high Indian tariffs keep US goods out of the Indian market.
Warning To Russia
The US official warned Moscow of additional American sanctions if the Kremlin does not end its war in Ukraine. He claimed that "all options are on the table" as the Trump administration weighs punitive measures against Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to bombard Ukraine despite recent talks about peace in Alaska.
"I think everything's on the table. President Putin, since the historic meeting in Anchorage, since the phone call, when the European leaders and President Zelensky were at the White House the following Monday, has done the opposite of following through on what he indicated he wanted to do. As a matter of fact, he has, in a despicable, despicable manner, increased the bombing campaign, " Bessent said.
"So I think with President Trump, all options are on the table, and I think we'll be examining those very closely this week," he added.
Russia and Ukraine have continued bombarding each other in recent weeks, even after Russian President Putin met with President Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, in an attempt to advance a peace deal.
